Adam Rafferty (born January 26, 1969) is a guitarist and composer. He is known for his arrangements of pop songs by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and for the use of

beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York. His first inspiration was his father strumming a Martin D-28 guitar for him. By the age of six, he was studying with

Woody Mann Haywood Lee Mann (December 30, 1952 – January 27, 2022) was an American guitarist. Biography He was born in New York, where he studied acoustic guitar with blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis from 1968–72. From 1973–78, he continued pri ...

and exploring

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. He credits Woody Mann with much of his development. A few years later, Rafferty was introduced to

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

with formal instruction from Dennis Cinelli and Pat O'Brien. In 1986, he enrolled at the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

, majoring in

. He continued a fruitful collaboration with childhood friend and drummer, John-Christian Urich. They played together in a variety of contexts from hard rock to R&B. By the time Rafferty finished college, he switched to electric guitar.

Rap and jazz

By the mid to late 1980s, Rafferty and Urich formed the duo Raf and Cooly C, backed by a live band, with Rafferty rapping and playing guitar and Urich adding drums and beatbox. The duo created a local stir. They were picked to perform on the album, ''Bring Me Edelweiss'' by the Austrian band

Edelweiss ''Leontopodium nivale'', commonly called edelweiss () ( ; or ), is a mountain flower belonging to the daisy or sunflower family Asteraceae. The plant prefers rocky limestone places at about altitude. It is a non-toxic plant. Its leaves and f ...

for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. The album went gold in Europe, though Rafferty and Urich never made any money. In 1989, Rafferty quit Raf and Cooly C and began to explore jazz. After seeing pianist

Mike Longo Michael Josef Longo (March 19, 1937 – March 22, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Longo was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to parents who had a musical background. His father played bass, his mother played organ at c ...

perform at the Birdland club in New York, he took lessons from him. After graduating from college, he played in jam sessions and gigs in New York City. He worked with

Bob Cranshaw Melbourne Robert Cranshaw (December 3, 1932 – November 2, 2016) was an American jazz bassist. His career spanned the heyday of Blue Note Records as a house bassist to his later involvement with the Musicians Union. He is perhaps best known f ...

Lou Donaldson Louis Andrew Donaldson Jr. (November 1, 1926 – November 9, 2024) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. He was best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to playing the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was he ...

, Virgil Jones, Gloria Lynn,

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. He was renowned for his extensive solo work; however, he was also remembered for his time playing with Count Basie, Count Basie's band duri ...

Buster Williams Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, as well as working with guitarist Larry Coryell, the Thelonious Monk reperto ...

, and the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band directed by Jimmy Owens. He also crossed paths with talents from his own generation, such as Eric Person,

Norah Jones Norah Jones ( ; born Geethali Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has won several awards for her music and, , has sold more than 53 million records worldwide. '' Billboard'' named her the top jazz artist of ...

, and Chris Potter. Drawn to the jazz scene in Harlem, he worked for nearly a year with organist Jimmy "Preacher" Robbins. He also worked with the Tippy Larkin Quintet. In 1993, he recorded his debut album, ''First Impressions'', with his mentor, Mike Longo, on piano, Paul West on bass, and Ray Mosca on drums. The album received a favorable review in ''Just Jazz Guitar'' magazine. Beginning in the mid 1990s, he headed his own trio, often taking them on annual tours of Europe, particularly in Austria and Germany. By the late '90s, he settled on a band featuring Danton Boller and Tomas Fujiwara. The same group appeared on his third album, ''Three Souls''. He formed an experimental jazz trio, the New York Trio Project, with bassist John Menegon and drummer Jeff Siegel. Boller introduced him to tenor saxophonist

Bennie Wallace Bennie Wallace (born November 18, 1946) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Wallace was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He began playing in local clubs with the encouragement of East Ridge, Tennessee High School band director and ...

, and tours followed. He met Alvin Queen, who used him as a sideman in his quintet with alto saxophonist Jesse Davis and trumpeter Joe Magnarelli. In 2006, he was asked to substitute on Lonnie Smith's organ trio. They performed at jazz festivals, the Jazz Standard, and Smoke in New York City.

Switching to fingerstyle

In 2007, a friend showed him a video of fingerstyle guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. Inspired by what he saw, he began to experiment with arranging pop songs, taking an approach that enabled him to play bass lines, melody, and middle voicings simultaneously. He brought to fingerstyle guitar the music he enjoyed as a kid:

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, and R&B. He also used

beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.Run–D.M.C. records in the 1980s and from his time as a rapper. His first album as a solo acoustic guitarist, ''Gratitude'', was recorded on his own at his home in Jackson Heights, New York. He began distributing his home performances on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. His cover versions of

's "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produ ...

" and

's "

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

" received more than one million views. At the suggestion of a YouTube fan, Rafferty went to the

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

Appreciation Society in 2008 to meet like-minded fingerstyle guitarists. He was asked to be appear as a guest at a Tommy Emmanuel concert at

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

's club in New York. He performed with Emmanuel at the

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Guitar Festival, in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland in 2009, and again

's club in 2010. The association with Emmanuel allowed him to meet and play with other established acoustic musicians, such as Michael Fix and Joe Robinson.

Other work

He performed at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City in 1996 at a tribute concert for guitarist

Tal Farlow Talmage Holt Farlow (June 7, 1921 – July 25, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist. He was nicknamed "Octopus" because of how his large, quick hands spread over the fretboard. Early life and education Talmage Holt Farlow was born in Greensb ...

. Included on the bill were over a dozen jazz guitarists, including

Jimmy Bruno James Michael Bruno (born July 22, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Bruno started playing guitar at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich. ...

Howard Alden Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps. Early life Ho ...

, Jack Wilkins,

Johnny Smith Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote " Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great ...

, Remo Palmier, John Abercrombie, Herb Ellis, Ron Affif, Al Gafa, Joe Diorio, Mark Elf, Gene Bertoncini, and

Vic Juris Victor Edward Jurusz Jr. (September 26, 1953 – December 31, 2019), known professionally as Vic Juris, was an American jazz guitarist. Music career Juris was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but he moved with his family to Parsippany-Troy Hill ...

. He has written two instructional books, ''How to Develop Virtuoso Single Line Technique for Jazz Guitar, based on “ The Virtuoso Pianist” by C.F. Hanon'' (2003) and ''How to Play Single Note Lines that Outline Chord Changes for Jazz Guitar'' (2003).

Award and honors

In 1998, he was selected for inclusion in the book, ''The Jazz Guitar: Its Evolution, Player, and Personalities Since 1900'' by Maurice J. Summerfield. His album ''I Remember Michael'' was in the top 10 Critics' Poll of '' Jazziz'' magazine in 2011.

Discography

As leader

* ''First Impressions'' with

, Paul West, Ray Mosca (CAP, 1993) * ''Blood Sweat and Bebop'' with Mike Longo,

, Ray Mosca (CAP, 1998) * ''Kush'' with Danton Boller, Russ DiBona (CAP, 2001) * ''Three Souls'' with Danton Boller, Tomas Fujiwara (CAP, 2001) * ''Fifth House'' (Imaginary, 2001) * ''The New York Trio Project'' with John Menegon, Jeff Siegel (2003) * ''Gratitude'' (Crescent Ridge, 2008) * ''Chameleon'' (Crescent Ridge, 2009) * ''Girl Meets Guitar'' (Acoustic Music Records, 2010) * ''Play Pretty for the People'' (Crescent Ridge, 2016) * ''A Christmas Guitar Celebration'' (Crescent Ridge, 2010) * ''I Remember Michael'' (Crescent Ridge, 2011)

As sideman

With New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble * ''Explosion'' (2000) * ''Aftermath'' (2001) * ''Oasis'' (2004)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafferty, Adam 1969 births Living people American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists American fingerstyle guitarists American jazz musicians Grammy Award winners Musicians from Manhattan People from Harlem State University of New York at Purchase alumni Guitarists from New York City 20th-century American guitarists Jazz musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians